Temporary shoe-lacing.



' I PATENTED MARI 24, 1908. I J. w. WASHBURN, F1 P. RONBY at B. H. BORRBSON. TEMPORARY SHOE meme.

APPLICATION FILED KAY 13, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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No. 882,919. PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908. J. w. WASHBURN, P. P. RONEY & B. H. BURRESON.

= TEMPORARY SHOE LAGING.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 13. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

"fwlfad UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

JOHN W. WASHBURN AND FRANK P. RONEY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, AND BORRE H. BORRESON,

OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

TEMPORARY SHOE-LACING.

To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that we, J oI-IN W. WASHBURN and FRANK P. HONEY, of Minneapolis, Hennepin county, Minnesota, and BoRRE II. BoRREsoN, of St. Paul, Ramsey county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Temporary Shoe- Lacings, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates totemporary lacings or fasteners used in the manufacture of shoes, and the object of the invention is to provide a temporary fastener which will do away with the necessity of lacing the upper with twine during the operation of lasting.

A further object is to provide a fastener adapted to be permanently mounted on the' last and hence always at hand and ready for use when needed, and permitting the use of the last in either a shoe or a boot.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following detailed descri tion.

The invention consists general y in arms mounted in a last and adapted to engage the lacing edges of the shoe upper, with means for moving the arms to draw the said edges together.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a last with our invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the mechanism for operating the arms of the fastener. Fig. 3 is a detail view illustrating the means for locking the operating device. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view illustrating the arms in position to engage the lacing edges of the upper. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line a;w of Fig. 1 showing the arms in their raised position. Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustratingthe application of the device to a shoe. Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a last illustrating a modilied construction of fastener showing the arms in their down position. Fig. 8 is a similar view illustrating the arms in a raised position. Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the ine y-4 of Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a detail view showing the arms turned to an inoperative position to adapt the last for use in a boot.

In the drawing, 2 represents a last having a socket 3 formed therein to receive a frame 4. This frame is designed to be permanently secured in the last and the fastener will Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 13, 1907.

Patented March 24, 1908.

Serial No. 373,480.

be mislaid or lost, but will alwaysbe ready for use when needed. Transverse slots 5 and 6 are formed in the instep portion of the last, extending across the same and intersecting the socket 3. The frame 4 has flanges 7 and 8 extending laterally on each side thereof into the slots 5 and 6 and fitting snugly against the walls of said slots, and said flanges terminate in lugs 9 and 10 that are bent substantially at right angles to the flanges and extend across the slots 5 and 6. These lugs have holes 11 wherein arms 12 and 13 arranged in pairs in the slots 5 and 6 are loosely mounted at one end. Springs 14 mounted on the said arms tend to draw them toward one another but permit them to be moved longitudinally and pressed down into the slots when the last is used on a boot, and a fastening device is unnecessary. The inner ends of the arms are curved to adapt them to enter the eyelet holesat the proper angle and terminate in heads 15 which slip through the eyelet holes and prevent the arms from becoming accidentally disengaged therefrom.

Referring to Fig. 6, 16 represents the shoe upper having the usual lacing edges 17 provided with eyelet holes 18. The arms will have sufiicient play in the holes of the lugs 10 to permit them to be moved back and forth and accommodate themselves to the distances between the eyelet holes, and the arms will also have suflicient movement to allow their inner ends to be raised for the purpose of drawing the lacing edges of the upper together. Any suitable mechanism may be employed for operating the arms to draw the upper over the last or release the same, but we prefer to employ the device which we will now describe in detail.

19 is a plate having longitudinal slots 20 therein through which the arms 12 pass, the slots being of suflicient length to allow the arms to slide therein during the operation of raising and lowering them. The plate 19 fits within the socket 3 of the last and extends across the slots 5 and 6, the arms passing through the slots 20 at those points. A link 21 pivotally connects the lower end of the plate 19 with the frame 4 and a bell crank is pivoted at 22 in said frame and has one arm 23 in pivotal engagement with the plate 19 and its other arm 24 arranged to therefore form a part of the last and cannot 1 project out of the socket in the last into the space between the instep and heel portion thereof, where it can be conveniently reached by the shoemaker. When the bell crank lever is pressed down to the position indicated in Fig. 1 the plate 19 will be moved longitudinally and raised simultaneously with its longitudinal movement and during the upward travel of the plate 19 the arms 12 in engagement with the lacing edges of the upper, will be raised and drawn together to draw the upper snugly over the last and hold the lacing edges securely during the lasting operation. To hold the bell crank in its depressed position we provide a dog 25 having a series of teeth 26 adapted to en a e the edge ofthe arm 24 and normally iefd out of contact with said arm by a spring 27. As long as the dog is in engagement with the arm 24 the arms 12 will be locked in their raised position and the lacing edges of the upper drawn snugly together. As soon, however, as the dog is disengaged from the arm the plate 19 may be swung to its depressed position and the arms 12 lowered to release the lacing edges and allow the removal of the upper.

In Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 we have shown a modification which consists in providing a shaft 28 whereon arms 29 are mounted hav ing depending ends adapted to straddle a plate 30 provided with notches 31 through. which said arms extend. The plate 30 is fitted within the last and is adapted to be moved lengthwise therein having a turned up end 32 for convenience of operation. When the plate is moved in one direction the arms 29 will be forced apart against the tension of a spring 33. Hooks 34 are pivoted in pairs on said arms and have curved ends adapted to enter the eyelet holes in the shoe upper, and lugs 35 which engage the said arms and limit the outward swinging movement of the hooks 34. l/Vhen, therefore, the arms are in the position shown in Fig. 7 the hooks can be inserted into the eyelet holes of the upper and upon spreading the arms by the movement of the plate 30 the hooks will be drawn together and the upper drawn up over the last. This device is also designed to be permanently attached to the last and when the last is used in a boot the hooks may be swung to the position indicated in Fig. 10 where they will not interfere with the insertion of the last into the boot or its removal therefrom.

We claim as our invention:

1. The combination, with a last, of arms permanently mounted thereon and adapted to engage the lacing edges of a shoe upper, a lever device and mechanism operatively connecting said arms and said lever device.

2. The combination, with a last, of arms mounted thereon, and adapted to engage the lacing edges of a shoe upper, said arms being loosely mounted in their support to adapt them for entering differently spaced eyelet holes, and means for moving said arms to draw the said lacing edges together.

3. The combination, with a last, of arms mounted thereon, and adapted to engage the lacing edges of a shoe upper, means for moving said arms to draw the said edges together and said arms normally projecting beyond the surface of the last but being capable of retraction to adapt the last for use in a boot, substantially as described. it

4. The combination, with a last, of lacing devices mounted thereon and adapted to temporarily engage the edges of the shoe upper, and means for operating said lacing devices to tighten the upper over the last, and said means being adjustable to vary the degree of tension of the lasting device on the upper, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a last, of arms loosely mounted at one end therein, and having opposite free ends adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper, and means for moving the free ends of said arms to draw the lacing edges of the upper together.

6. The combination, with a last, of arms loosely mountedat one end therein and having a longitudinal movement in their support, the opposite free ends of said arms being adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper and having a vertical movement with respect to their support, and means for raising and lowering said lacing devices.

7. The combination, with a last, of arms mounted at one end therein, the opposite free ends of said arms being adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper, said arms being arranged in pairs, a plate having slots to receive the pairs of arms, and means for im parting a combined longitudinal and vertical movement to said plate, for the purpose specified.

8. The combination, with a last, of lacing devices mounted therein and adapted to engage the eyelets of the shoe upper, a plate provided in said last having a longitudinal and vertical movement and arranged to engage said lacing devices, and means for operating said plate to raise or lower said lacing devices.

9. The combination, with a last, of a frame mounted therein, arms arranged in pairs and loosely mounted at one end in said frame, the opposite ends of said arms being adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper, a plate having guides to receive the said arms and adapted to move lengthwise and vertically in said last, and means for operating said plate.

10. The combination, with a last, of lacing devices mounted therein and adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper, said lacing devices having a vertical movement in said last to draw the edges of the upper together, a plate arranged to engage said lacing devices, and a bell crank lever having a locking means and connected with said plate to move the same and said lacing devices, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with. a last, of means mounted thereon and adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper and mechanism whereby the tension of said means on said eyelets and upper can be increased or decreased to adapt the device for the first and second lasting operation, substantially as described.

12. The combination, with a last, of means mounted thereon and adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper, said means having sufficient movement in their support to adapt them for differently spaced eyelets, and mechanism whereby the tension of said means on said eyelets and upper can be varied to adapt the device for the first and second lasting operation.

13. The combination, with a last, of

means mounted thereon and adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper and a lever mechanism whereby the tension of said means on said eyelets and upper can be increased or decreased to adapt the device for the first and second lasting operation.

14. The combination, with a last, of arms loosely mounted therein and having ends adapted to enter the eyelets of a shoe upper, the movement of said arms in their support permitting their adjustment for differently spaced eyelets, and means for operating said arms to tighten the upper over the last, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, we have hereto set our hands this 9th day of May, 1907.

JOHN W. WASHBURN. FRANK P. RQNEY. BORRE H. BORRESON, Witnesses:

RICHARD PAUL. J. B. ERA. 

